The Unseen
US (1945): Mystery/Thriller
Joel McCrea, Gail Russell and Herbert Marshall star in this film, the plot of which owes a great deal to The Turn of the Screw and Gaslight. There are two children, who are hiding things that may or may not be supernatural from their governess, especially the precocious and hostile boy. There is also a house next door where someone is creeping around at night. So here is a meld of both plots. There are twists and turns and red herrings galore. The end is unsatisfactory in that anyone who has seen a film like this KNOWS the guilty party is never the one all the clues point to, but the one who is the sanest, calmest and most helpful to the terrified heroine. I'll not divulge the set-up or ending anymore than this as it would be a spoiler.
It was nominated for Sound, but I don't see why - there isn't even any creepy use of sound/silence as in films of this genre to recommend it. What this needed was a master of film noir to direct and photograph it and then we might have been on the edge of our seats. As it is, it's pretty tame and predictable, but certainly worth an initial watch. It was made as a follow-up to the highly successful The Uninvited the year before. Richard Lyon as the creepy boy delivers a fine juvenile performance. Lewis Allen directs for Universal. (Arne Andersen, IMDb)
1 nomination
· Sound Recording 1945: Loren L. Ryder